October 2021 Trestleboard

Sickness and Distress

Brother Jordan Whitney reported on Facebook that late in September he experienced a serious “cardiac event”. He is recovering and expresses his appreciation to all who have contacted and called him. Please keep in your devotions and wish him a speedy recovery.

Brethren all, if you are aware of any member of this Lodge who is suffering from ill-health or other adverse circumstances, or you yourself are suffering the same and you feel that it would benefit the member to be contacted by members of the Lodge, please reach out to the Secretary and let him know!

Meetings

Stated Meeting

October 4^th @ 7:30 pm – October stated meeting. Officers are requested to arrive 30 minutes early to assist with Lodge room setup. All others are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. At the time of writing, the Degree upon which the Lodge will be opened will be the Entered Apprentice degree.

Other Mondays

• October 11^th @ 7:00 pm – Fellow Craft Degree practice at the Temple.
• October 18^th @ 7:00 pm – Fellow Craft Degree at the Temple for Brother Jeff Killpack. Officers and degree team members are asked to arrive 30 minutes early to help setup the Lodge.
• October 25^th @ 7:00 pm – Meetup. Location will be announced on Grandview and Facebook.

Holidays and Observances

• October 11^th is both Columbus Day and Indigenous People’s day.
• October 31^st is Halloween.

From the East

September was an interesting month for Twin Peaks.  We had our lenitively awards presentation immediately after opening the Lodge.  See the article in this Trestle Board.  Also, in this Trestle Board note the presentation to Brother Harold Lish.

I wish to commend, Worshipful Brothers Del Phillips of Canyon Lodge #13, Jay Roundy and Glen VanSteeter of Twin Peaks #32, for the follow through on the cleanup of the parking lot and sidewalk, I believe that a number of Brothers noted the rain from the previous evening and thought that it might be too wet to work.  I know I did.  These Brothers chose to take the chance that they would not get rained on and if they did, that they would be able to complete the task.  Which they did. I was able to meet them and was unable to, to my regret, to stay with them.  Thank You Brethren for following through on my project.

Twin Peaks will go forward with our plans to perform our Veteran’s Day Breakfast.  On Sunday, November 14^th We will have the Temple from 7 AM to 1 PM.  This will give us a serving time of 8 AM to 12 PM.  Adah Chapter will have the Temple from 2 PM for their installation.

Per the By-laws of the Midvale Masonic Temple Board Section 4.1, a vote was taken at the Canyon Lodge @ 13 Stated meeting September 7, 2021, and I was appointed by them to serve a three-year term as the at-large member of the Board.  I have a copy of the By-laws in my possession for reference.

October hopefully will be a quiet month for us.  Our stated meeting, practices for hopefully degree work along with opening and closings.  Why all the practices you ask?  The degrees we perform have come down virtually unchanged by verbal sharing over the years.  The cypher is a relatively new form of education and has depending on the Jurisdiction has had minor wording changes, that do not change the meaning of the whole.  Practices are where we learn as new Master Masons individual parts of degrees, opening and closing of meetings how do perform a position.  The Code of the Grand Lodge of Utah allows Lodges under it to open Stated or Business meetings on the 1^st or EA degree so that all new Brothers have an opportunity to see how we conduct business.  Each degree is conducted on the degree it represents and only the candidate and those who have reached these degrees may attend.  Speculative Masonry has evolved into a dignified, and meaningful presentation of the degrees.  Consider that the Degree is held for the candidate to bestow upon them that degree.  The lesson of the degree taught through the catechism and the lecture is for all those who are in attendance.  The candidate as a participant does not see the manner in which the degree is done.  Thus, he is assigned a mentor to help him understand the process he went through.  Mentors are charged with this education and are also expected to take or have a candidate taken to any Degree being held to which the candidate has recently experienced.  Seeing is understanding.

Just a quick note.  The stated meeting in November is the time of elections.  I encourage all Master Masons to be present to vote as is their right and duty to elect the Master, Wardens, Secretary, Treasurer, and trustee.   Remember that electioneering is a violation of Grand Lodge Code and not to be countenanced.  If you are not sure of the consequence, I would suggest that a review of the Code is in order.

Richard L. Wailes, PM
Worshipful Master

On the Secretary’s Desk

Hello brethren!

I am sure that you are all breathlessly anticipating the annual ritual of receiving your dues notices. Rest assured that they will go out this month. This is a good time to remind you that per Twin Peaks Lodge bylaws, Lodge dues are $50. I have not received notice that Grand Lodge per-capita will increase for 2022, so at this time we are expecting the annual dues payable by January 1^st, 2022 to be $90, the same as for 2021. Expect your dues notices to arrive in early October. Please send your remittances as early as you are able. If you are unable to pay your dues for 2022 or any years prior that you may be owing, please don’t wait until the end of the year! Contact me as soon as you can so that we can make arrangements!

To the brethren who have registered on Grandview, I thank you! I hope that you see the benefit of it! Well, there are some benefits that I want to bring to your attention.

First, you can see your current balance for dues owed when you click on your Twin Peaks Lodge tile. When you have a dues balance owing, clicking on that balance should permit you to be able to pay your dues right through Grandview.

Second, you can see a record of your transaction history, which includes all dues payments and any other transactions between you and the Lodge. 

Fourth, clicking on Lodge Info will give you all kinds of information about Twin Peaks Lodge including my phone number, the Lodge email, our stated meeting nights/times and what months we are dark.

Next, our Website link. (yes, Virginia, we now have a website which is still a work in progress!)  We will be working on that website to include yet another way to pay dues and get information about upcoming events or interesting things that members have contributed about Freemasonry in general or Twin Peaks in particular. 

Yes, there is More! At the bottom of Lodge Info is a listing of our five elected officers plus their phone numbers and emails. A new feature that was just enabled is the Lodge Roster. You can now instantly get contact information for the members of the Lodges you belong to on your computer, tablet or phone! You can also download a copy of Twin Peaks’ bylaws! Next, you can also post a message on the TP32 feed.  Write something and click post! Just remember that your posts should be in good taste. No flame wars here, please!  At the bottom, you will also see icons for Feed, Social Groups (yeah, the Icon is busted, it’s been reported) and events. Clicking on events will show you all events/meetings that lodges in Utah have added to the Grandview calendar. Clicking on Feed will display all messages and postings from Grand Lodge and any Lodges you belong to. 

Finally, and this has to do with Sickness and Distress. Brethren, please, if you know of a brother who is suffering, do not wait until a Lodge meeting to bring this to my attention. The Master and I both want to be as proactive as possible regarding difficulties that our membership may be facing. The last two years have inflicted unprecedented hardship on our society in general and Masons are not immune! If you are suffering, or you know of a brother who is, you can call me on my phone # or send me a message to my email address, both which can be found on the first page of this Trestleboard.

Fraternally and cordially,

Glen Van Steeter, PM – Secretary

Longevity Award Presentations

Brethren, at our September 13^th stated meeting, we were honored to have two of our three Longevity Award honorees in attendance in order that Most Worshipful Grand Master Daniel J. Lawes could make the presentations personally.

After a light reception prior to the meeting, the Lodge was opened in regular form after which the Master called the meeting to recess in order to permit the Grand Master and himself to make the presentations. Ill. Bro. Jeremy Estes escorted Brother Lawrence McGill (55) and Worshipful Brother Ronald Lloyd to the East.

Brother McGill’s spouse Marilyn and daughter Agadda (I hope I spelled that right!) were in attendance.

Brother McGill recounted the story of how the Lodge that he was initiated, passed, and raised in did his degrees over the summer months when the Lodge was normally dark. In that jurisdiction, dispensation had to be obtained to perform work over the summer months. He also recounted that even though that Lodge had a cipher available, his father, also a Mason, insisted on doing it the old-school way, which was mouth to ear! He managed to pass off all three degrees before the summer ended.

We congratulate both brethren for their membership in Freemasonry and Twin Peaks Lodge 32 in particular, and we hope that we will have the opportunity to do this again in five years!

Brother McGill was initiated on June 1^st, 1965, passed to the FC degree on July 6^th, 1965 and raised to the degree of Master Mason on August 10^th, 1965.  Worshipful Brother Lloyd was initiated on January 18^th, 1971, passed to the FC degree on March 22^nd, 1971 and raised to the degree of Master Mason on June 12^th, 1971.

Brother Harold Lish was unable to attend the Awards Presentations at our September 13th Stated meeting. However, arrangements werre made by the Lodge Secretary to deliver and present Bro. Lish his 55-year pin and certificate at his home.

Worshipful Master Ric Wailes and the Lodge secretary arrived at Brother Lish’s home at 6 pm on September 16^th, where we were warmly greeted by Brother Lish’s dog. Brother Lish invited us into his home. We spent some time chatting, sharing past experiences before we proceeded to the business at hand. Master Ric Wailes then made the presentation, reading the text of the plaque while the secretary took a few photographs.

Brother Lish thanked Worshipful Master Wailes for the presentation, for which he felt deeply honored, and also expressed his appreciation for the time that W. Brothers Wailes and Van Steeter took out of their personal schedules to make the presentation.

By the way, for those of you who noticed the U of U football on the mantlepiece: It’s signed by Kyle Whittingham, the coach of the Utes football team! A Utah Man am I, Sir!

Brother Lish was initiated into Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32 on April 19^th, 1965, passed to the Fellow Craft Degree on May 17^th, 1965 and was raised to the degree of Master Mason on June 11^th, 1965.

Masonic Birthdays

The following Brethren have anniversaries of their being raised to the Degree of Master Mason this month. 

• Brother John Tom Christopulos, raised on October 9, 1964 and has 57 years of service.
• Brother Harold Ambrose Cornelison Jr., raised on October 16, 1967 and has 54 years of service.
• Brother Eugene L. Tenney Jr., raised on October 26, 1972 and has 49 years of service.
• Brother Jared Conner Sanford, raised on October 30, 2006 and has 15 years of service.
• Brother Jordan Max Whitney, raised on October 14, 2019 and has 2 years of service.

Happy Birthday to You, my Brothers!

The following brethren were born this month.

• Worshipful Brother Stephen Horman, born on October 1.
• Most Worshipful Brother George Odendahl, born on October 2.
• Brother Byron Huffaker, born on October 3.
• Worshipful Brother Robert Hartman, born on October 4.
• Worshipful Brother Gavin Wardrope, born on October 5.
• Brother Johnnatan Tenorio, born on October 6.
• Brother Harold Cornelison, born on October 10.
• Worshipful Brother Kevin Tucker, born on October 23.
• Brother Delwyn Price, born on October 28.
• Brother Tyler  Burr, born on October 29.

Midvale Masonic Temple Cleanup

At the September 13^th Stated Meeting, Worshipful Master Ric Wailes announced that he was going to due some yard cleanup at the Midvale Masonic Temple on the following Saturday the 18^th.  The Secretary posted an event notice on the Twin Peaks Facebook group. 

The morning of the 18^th was cool and blustery and it had rained pretty heavily in the early morning hours. With low grey clouds and the smell of rain in the air, W. Bro’s Jay Roundy and Glen Van Steeter were joined by Worshipful Master Del Phillips of Canyon Lodge No. 13.  After about ½ hour of idle chit chat and “how ya doin?” we turned to the business at hand.

Jay and Del  started on the flower box in the front of the building while Glen started tackling the weeds growing through the cracks of the sidewalk and along the curb. After the flower box was tidied up, Jay and Del joined Glen in getting the weeds out of the sidewalk and curb all the way down to the dry cleaners.  

After a quick break, we then worked on the weed growth along the south edge of the parking lot near the backs of the old Joe Morley building. Man, THAT was a lot of weeds! Glen tackled the rogue Chinese Elm that was growing near the exterior stairs and the two thin trees on the south side of the lot while Del and Jay decimated the weed growth along there.

We realized that to do anything about the weeds in the middle of the parking lot that we were going to need more help than showed up that morning.  So, we tossed the bagged debris into the dumpster and called it a job well done at 11:30 am. 

The next time that you come to the Lodge building, I hope that you will notice how much nicer the curb, sidewalk and flower box look and if you see Jay or Del, you might want to thank them for the time they put in to make our building look nicer to the public.

Masonic Charity – A Few Thoughts

Submitted by Worshipful Brother Robert Hartman, past master of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32.

Vividly, we recall the lesson impressed upon each of us in the Entered Apprentice Degree by the Worshipful Master, that of Charity. A recent, brief search on Google estimated that American Masons donate 2.6 Million dollars to charity each day of the year. I would posit that is but a small fraction of the actual amount Masons give; there is no accounting for the dollars each of us gives to food banks, homeless shelters, the Red Cross, etc., in our daily lives. That Charity, both public and private is laudable, and it is good.

I would draw your attention now to another important Masonic Charity, one that decidedly is of as much value as our financial donations; one that is clearly lacking in our current contentious state nationally, locally, and sadly, in our Lodge. We give it lip service, but our actions loudly contradict our words. Our various lectures, writings, and supplications teach the incalculable value of this form of charity, and yet we choose to ignore it, frankly at our peril. 

I am speaking, Brothers, of the Charity of our tongues, of our spoken words. Too frequently, we allow our passions and prejudices to pass the circle of circumscription drawn by our own Compasses, thereby failing ourselves, our Brothers, and our Supreme Architect with words of anger, suspicion and fault. Should a Brother without intent offend us with his words or deeds, the teachings of this Great Institution lead us  not to confrontation or ignorant denial, but to conversation with our Brother, to share with each other words of good counsel, to receive as well as to give instruction. It is incumbent upon all Masons, from the youngest Entered Apprentice in the Northeast Corner of the Lodge, to the Worshipful Master in the East, to be willing to listen and accept such instruction and good counsel.

Within our Sacred Walls, and between Brothers, there should be not conflict, but harmony; not hostility, but openness. It is not within our role as Masons to cut another down, or publicly denounce his thoughts or ideas; rather we should be willing to listen to points of view not of our own making, for there is some good in all concepts. Masonry, by it’s very design, rejects the belief that only one idea is of value, or that only one individual can be successful.   

Masonry in general, and Lodges in particular, succeed and flourish only when there is harmony and a spirit of co-operation within the walls of the Lodge and the minds of the Brothers. Let us remember this and let the Charity of our tongues guide our words and our deeds, towards all Masons and indeed toward all Mankind.

I thank you for your kind attention.

Robert M. Hartman, Past Master

Lodge Officer Elections – November 1st

Brethren all, we will be holding Officer elections for the 2022 Masonic Year at our November Stated Meeting which will be held on November 1^st @ 7:30 pm.  The Worshipful Master expects that all Master Masons who are able to make an effort to attend this meeting.

2022 Dues Notices

2022 dues notices will be mailed out this month. This is a reminder that annual dues remittances are due on January 1^st, 2022. Since we are approaching the end of the year, it is very important that if you foresee that you cannot pay your dues as a result of health or financial hardship that you contact the Worshipful Master or the Lodge Secretary as soon as possible in order to avoid possible suspension of membership in Twin Peaks Lodge. As of this writing, the remittance is expected to be $50 for TP32 dues plus $40 for Grand Lodge per-capita, for a total of $90.